Social Stratification In The 1920s

Have you ever referred to someone as “high class,” “middle class,” or “low class?” The article “Class In America” is a very educated read and describes the way people are characterized by their “class.” I think that this article informs all types of readers and allows people to see how people are grouped based on themselves. “Class in America” is written to show and prove to society that people do not talk about “class” anymore, because of the way the world looks at it today. Gregory Mantosis is the author of the article, and he uses many facts and data to prove his points.

In the article, "Class in America", Gregory Mantsios (Myths and Realities 2000) shows us how what class a person is in affects his or hers life more than they think. This article is written sufficiently well however, it does have some weak spots. I will prove my thesis by examining his use of examples and showing factual data and statistics, but also show how this article could have been better.

There is much debate about the issue of social class in the United States. There are arguments about whether social classes are distinctly separate or fluid, dependent upon one’s community or society as a whole, and if they are subjective or objective (Hughes and Jenkins). However, despite the debate surrounding social classes, it is still important to try to define them and analyze their effects, as they are such an important part of our identity and our opportunities in society. Although our society has tried to appear as though we have no classes, and it is becoming harder to tell what class someone is in by material goods, classes do still exist today (Scott and Leonhardt). The trend has been to divide the U.S. into four major

Social class is a topic of discussion that is generally avoided, especially in America. In a country where all of one's dreams can allegedly come true; the notion of class highlights the jarring inequalities and social divisions between one American and another. In recent years, recognizing one's privilege is beginning to become a cultural value. However, it has always been something that people were aware of, as seen in the eye-opening documentary, People Like Us: Social Class is America (2001). The documentary strives to accurately portray how the contrasted people of America live, interact, and see themselves and others. Of the ideas the doc showcases the most important are, the higher classes influence over the poor, and the poor's poor self-image, as these ideas strike the core of why one should be conscientious of their class.

People consider that social stratification in the United States contains social classes such as upper class, middle class, and lower class. People who are categorizing in upper class not only have power and control over their own lives but also their social status gives them

The social class one is born into, more often than not dictates the social class they will belong to as an adult. There have been studies done in regards to social mobility, which greatly supports the concept that social class further promotes inequality, for 40% of individuals, born into either the top or bottom as infants, will remain there throughout their adult life. The stagnant nature of economic mobility, is only further worsened by absolute mobility. Those who begin impoverished are disadvantaged from the start and even with an increase of income, they most likely will remain in their same social class, for most people with time have an increase in overall income, and yet the relative increase remains stagnant, for all

Three ways society changed in the 1920’s are through culture, economy, and social norms like fashion and women's rights. The 1920’s was a time of change. The United States had just won the war and after the war the United States just wanted to “return to normalcy”. But nothing was normal after the war; the 1920s was a time where the United States was at a peak prosperity. But this can be countered with organized gang violence, increased rate of murder, and countless robberies. Even though prosperity in the 1920s can be counter argued. Overall the 1920s was a time of change; a time for a change in culture, for a change in the economy, and for a change in social norms.

Social class describes the different "layers" that exist in society. These "layers," or classes in society, are a division that civilization has been running on ever since the beginning of mankind. In most modern societies, our system of social class division is one of opportunity. We experience a good deal of social mobility, where people through generations or in their own lifetime can move up or down the social scale. By examining the many different perceptions of social class along with S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, it is illustrated that social class has an impact on people while they are growing up, and will usually deny them from rising above adversity.

Social Stratification can be explained as members of a society being placed into a hierarchy where they are

The United States is often seen by many as a country of equal opportunity. A place where social classes do not exist. Unfortunately, thoughts such as these are wrong because the US is far from being the only country to escape this exception. When observed closely there are signs that each person manifests that distinctively show what social class they belong to. Although money is the most common marker of class, education along with health related topics such as heart disease and eating habits are strong inicators of class.

In the 1920’s the United States government implemented a new and radical legislation referred to as prohibition that changed the lives of american adults. This new bill consisted of outlawing intoxicating beverages throughout the United States and having them regulated by the Federal Government. In every community the response to this new bill varied. For instance, in 1920 I believe the individuals who resided in my hometown Yardley, Pennsylvania would have been able to obtain alcohol illegally through operations known as saloons. Similar to society today, “stratification”, is extremely important social factor and truly affects the amount of law one may receive (Black, 11) .

The 1920’s was a great and important decade for the United States. After World War I, the United States went through events and changes that, overall, made the United States a much better place to live. New advances in technology and industry improved American life in more ways than just one. Americans had better wages during this time, more leisure time, and overall, had a better life than ever before. In addition, the 1920’s advocated social and cultural change as well. During this time period, the United States did not return to Normalcy, and instead developed attitudes that changed the life of the people of the United States forever thanks to social changes, cultural changes and changes in technology.

Social class systems in the nineteenth century were comprised of the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the underclass. The different social classes can be “distinguished by inequalities in such areas as power, authority, wealth, working and living conditions, life-styles, life-span, education, religion, and culture” (Cody). The poor, also known as peasants, were usually mistreated and segregated from the wealthy, or those of higher class. During his time, Charles Dickens “seen as a champion of “the poor” by some of the poor themselves” (“What was”). It is said that one of his greatest achievements “was to bring the problem of poverty to the attention of his readers through introducing varieties of poor persons into almost all of his novels, and showing the “deserving” majority of the poor, bravely struggling against the forces arrayed against them” (“What was”). This is clearly evident in A Tale of Two Cities. During the nineteenth century Victorian era, social class systems were a common excuse for the division and mistreatment of many individuals, as evidenced in Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities.

Economic stratification is the different rankings in social class are separated in different economic ways. These differences can vary from clothing, cars, perfumes, cigarette brands, etc. There are many ways you can tell what a person stratification is just by the way they look or the things they have. Usually these ranking go from lower class to middle class then the upper class. Each of these classes have very different ways of living and what they do to maintain a certain status.

Q1A. The question of the inevitability of social stratification is one of the fundamental bases of the theories of Kingsley Davis and Wilbert Moore. Davis and Moore (1945) argue that as long as there is division of labor in the society, and that there are variability in the roles with varying degrees of importance, stratification will occur. There is a significant difference in the wages of CEO’s and a minimum wage earner because according to the theory, there is a functional necessity of providing different rewards for different positions in the society in accordance to an individual’s abilities. Because not everyone is qualified for specific positions or roles set by the society, there is a need to fill them by making sure that the right